Good Fortune
by PleasedAsPunch
Summary: A Ten x Rose AU inspired by, but not entirely based on Pride and Prejudice.
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks for reading! **

**A/N: The first line is verbatim Austen's opening line to P&P**

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

This is exactly was Mrs. Tyler thought wrong with society, for the sake of her daughter, that a lady could not raise herself up among her peers without the leverage of a well-placed man.

And this is exactly what she repeated to her daughter on the day news was had that Tardishire Hall had recently been peopled by a man of no mean fortune.

"And he has not made himself known in town," Mrs. Tyler told her daughter, "nor to any of the families. Not even," she said, perching on what was by its sound sure to be a piece of salacious gossip, "to Captain Harkness, who I am sure will be quite vexed by the thoughtless designs of someone who calls himself a gentleman."

"Mamma," her daughter responded, "you punish the man too harshly. He has not inhabited the house since three days."

"And three days lost to us!"

The young lady sighed from her place at the window where she stood cutting the stems of flowers to arrange in vase.

"Three days," continued the lady, "that you remained unacquainted with him, though if he has not the civility in him to call on Captain Harkness, perhaps we are better off without the acquaintance altogether."

"Mamma, please, had I so recently taken so large a house I should think that I would not find my way from one end of it to the other within a fortnight, let alone three days."

But the lady would not have it. "Rose, my dear, but you should take so large a house if only you used those charms for something useful. You are not so beautiful that you should spend your years by windows arranging flowers."

The young Miss Tyler flushed and turned back to her task, the elder retreating to the garden in a fit of nerves.


	2. Chapter 2

On days when the weather was fair, the Tyler ladies often found themselves walking into town, for it was not a long journey and the fresh air did much—in the opinion of Mrs. Tyler—to brighten the complexion of her daughter, who was of the opinion that the air did equal remedy the frequency to her mother's regular fussing.

Mrs. Tyler, a widow of some years, visited friends at the east end of the village, where they were wont to exchange the scraps of gossip they had collected over the week. And, Rose, having sat through the ceremony many times since she was a girl, now found respite in the shops in town where she did of her mother's errands.

It was outside the millinery that Rose found herself in the presence of Captain Harkness.

"Miss Tyler," the Captain said upon their meeting. "How lovely it is to see you! Does your mother stay at home?"

"No, sir," she replied, "she calls on her friends on the eastern part of the village."

"Leaving you all alone to wander the square until she finishes her social obligations? That will not do, Miss Tyler. I insist you join me, my dear, in finding a new coat for riding. I was only just on my way to the tailor. The best of mine was ruined the last time I went riding in Town, you see."

He winked at her wickedly, both knowing full well that there was no place for riding horses in London.

Rose blushed, but nevertheless took the arm he proffered.

"It would be my honor to offer you my advice."

"A woman must always offer her advice and natural taste," he said as they walked, "for men are far too wrapped up in their own thoughts to dress themselves at all." He laughed.

The Captain was a tall man in his thirties, the most eligible of bachelors, who chose, instead of taking a wife, to tend to his horses and the acquaintances from his travels. As the squire of their little village, he often found it incumbent upon himself to make firm acquaintance with the local businesses, even soliciting his clothing from the local tailor instead of sending out to London.

"My mother has been terribly ill-at-ease of late," she said to him while they observed bolts of fabric.

"Your mother? Ill-at-ease?—This grey one, I think," he said to the tailor.

"About the new tenant at Tardishire Hall. She is convinced his unsociable behavior is traitorous to all esteemed gentlemen. Pray, has he found his way out of his castle to visit you?"

"It seems even Miss Tyler is not immune to the curiosity of our new neighbor! I should have thought that you would not vex yourself with the gossip of new gentlemen when you have such friends like me. But no, my dear, it is not that he should find his way to me, but that I should find my way to him. Our new tenant, it appears, is a lord—far above my own station as retired captain residing on my humble family plot—and Tardishire the family estate left vacant while the family spent years abroad."

"Do not quiz me, sir, with courtly tales."

"Quiz you! Miss Tyler! I would never think of it. It is true, he is recently returned to the country."

"So you have spoken to him?" she asked.

"Indeed, I called upon him the day after the trunks had all been carried indoors."

"Is he agreeable?"

"All men are agreeable in the right light," he responded.

"And why has he not come into the village?"

The Captain finished his business with the tailor and again they found themselves walking the village square.

"That is information I am not fortunate enough to be party to. I have, however, heard that he will be at the Rooms Saturday next. That should be information enough to assuage your mother."

"Who comes now," she said, spying her mother walking towards them. "Unless you wish to recount your entire story thrice more, I suggest you take your leave, and I will tell her you had urgent business to attend to."

The Captain smiled and, tipping his hat, left his friend to the company of her mother, who looked bursting with news.


	3. Chapter 3

It was in short order that they received a letter addressed from Boeshane, the home of Captain Harkness, praising Rose for her taste in riding coats and assuaging her mother's curiosity for that new tenant of Tardishire Hall, and in so doing, inquiring if the ladies would be so kind as to allow him to introduce Miss Tyler to the gentleman at some point in the duration of the ball.

Captain Harkness was all manners and pleasantness when he spotted them from across the Rooms the evening of the ball, calling good-naturedly to Rose and her mother to join him with his party.

"Have you your card, Miss Tyler? It would be my honor to take your _second_ dance, but I am already obliged for the first with another lady." The Captain looked to the other corner of the room, which was full of all and sundry, to a red-haired woman standing next to two gentleman.

"She is of the Tardishire party, unmarried, and very accomplished."

Rose leaned around to have a look where the lady stood. She was a tall lady, and imposing, turning occasionally to the gentlemen next to her as if commenting on the couples or the fashions.

"Come, Miss Tyler, and you Mrs. Tyler, I promised to introduce you."

Along with Captain Harkness, Rose and her mother walked to the threesome across the room, who stood separately from the crowded hall.

"Mrs. Tyler, might I introduce you to Mr. Smith—Lord Gallifrey of Tardishire Hall—his friend Mr. Saxon, and ward Miss Noble."

"How do you do?" Mrs. Tyler replied.

"Very well," said the man introduced as Mr. Saxon, smiling broadly. He was a man of medium height with fair hair and a charming demeanor. "It is lovely to meet such _elegant_ ladies in the country."

"You have seen my daughter, then? This is my Rose, my only child. My late husband, you see, died when she was quite young, but he was a good man, if nothing else."

"_Mamma_," her daughter chastened as her mother pushed her forward.

Rose looked upon the party, thinking it a motley group. Mr. Saxon, she thought, was a pleasant man with an amiable sort of countenance, and the red-haired lady, Miss Noble, she had not heard the lady speak, though she thought her years perhaps in too much abundance to be a ward of someone her own age.

Rose curtsied and her eyes fell upon Mr. Smith. He was a tall and slender sort of man with dark hair and a sober face.

"Miss Tyler," he said, nodding slightly.

"It is wonderful to meet your acquaintance," Rose replied, finding herself smiling in a compensatory fashion, as if to smile for the both of them when he would not.

He nodded again tersely, catching her eyes before again looking to the crowd before them.

"I am sorry if my friend is rude," said Mr. Saxon, "he simply isn't a frequenter of balls."

Rose smiled politely.

"Do you find the country to your liking, Miss Noble?" she asked.

"I have not been in it long enough to tell, though the milliner here is a poor substitute for those in Town."

"The lady is fond of hats," Mr. Smith said, all eyes turning toward him, though before Mrs. Tyler had the opportunity to inform them all that the milliner in the village was vastly superior to many of the shops she had seen on her own visits to Town, it was signaled that the first dance was soon to begin, and the Captain took the hand of Miss Noble, leading her down to the floor.

Mrs. Tyler looked hopefully up at Mr. Smith, but when the gentleman remained resolutely in his spot, Mr. Saxon offered his services to her daughter as a dance partner.

It was not much later in the evening when Rose found the opportunity to speak with her friend Martha Jones. Miss Jones was the youngest daughter of a gentleman and his wife a short distance from Rose's home.

"I wonder that Mr. Smith does not scream, for it looks as though he is suffering enough to fill a Spanish dungeon."

"He is rather a severe looking man, I grant you that, but take care, Rose, that you are not as unjust as your mother is insistent."

"Mr. Saxon, however, is a very amiable man, is he not? He is all smiles and pleasantness."

Martha looked over in the direction of the gentleman, who were not far from their own place in the room.

"He is very well, and my father says a dear friend to Mr. Smith, though I have heard he has had some trouble in Town, and has retreated to the hospitality of his friend until it dies down."

"Trouble?" Rose asked. Her friend shrugged.

"Mr. Smith!" Rose said, deciding she must know more about Mr. Smith and his friend, and turned on her heel. "I have already had the pleasure of dancing with your friend Mr. Saxon and with mine, Captain Harkness, but I have not had the happy opportunity to call you my partner. Do you dance, Mr. Smith?"

"It is better assumed that I do not," the gentleman said, looking away.

Rose turned slightly towards her friend Miss Jones, whose expression was barely controlled.

"Smith, that will not do!" Mr. Saxon exclaimed, looking aggrievedly at his friend. "I must apologize once again. He has been abroad for too long and has forgotten his manners. Perhaps, Miss Tyler, I may dance with you once more. I know it is hardly equal to the partnership of Mr. Smith, though I fear it will have to do."

Rose took the hand of the more amiable of the two men, looking to Mr. Smith as she did, who seemed to wear a pained expression as Mr. Saxon swept her off to the next dance, though it seemed that Mr. Smith was always destined to be a _permanent_ bearer of pained expressions.

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	4. Chapter 4

It was not so long into the next morning when Rose, sitting down for her breakfast, found herself in the possession of an invitation to tea from Miss Noble.

"Her script is so elegant, is it not?" her mother said upon having read the letter thrice and was beginning for the fourth time.

"'Mr. Saxon and Mr. Smith will be out riding,'" she quoted, "'and shall scarcely have time for our little meeting, when they have horses to saddle and worlds to save.' That is regrettable, I did enjoy Mr. Saxon so very much. Was he not pleasant, my dear? But Mr. Smith—if he were not so rich, I do not think that I should have even one reason to like him."

"Mamma—" Rose began.

"And I shall have Debra call on the Joneses that we might borrow their carriage for you."

"Mamma—"

"For we have little use for our own carriage, my dear, but it is in moments such as these that I dearly wish I had not sold your father's—"

"Mamma, I would walk—it is not two miles and the road is sound."

It was settled then, after much protest from Mrs. Tyler, that Rose should walk, for it would be unseemly to arrive in the equipage of the Joneses, which, Rose suggested, might lead Mr. Smith right into the arms of dear Martha, a portent she knew her mother would think so evil that she would have to agree that the weather was find and suited for walking.

::

"My dear Miss Tyler, how good of you to come all this way to see me," Miss Noble told her new companion upon her arrival to Tardishire Hall.

The two new friends greeted each other with all amiability, and Rose found that even given Miss Noble's condemnation the previous evening on the shortcomings of the country and its inferior hat selection, the lady had a certain affability in her composure and civility.

"This is a fine house," said Rose, thinking that the spaciousness of the place made it seem even bigger than anyone might have imagined it to be from its outside.

"It certainly is a pleasure to manage," Miss Noble replied.

"You are the mistress of this house?"

It came to pass that Miss Noble was indeed the mistress of her custodian's home, as the master of Tardishire Hall was often preoccupied with small matters better left to workmen and servants than to be bothered with the maintenance of such a grand estate.

"An odd sort of gentleman," thought Rose, "to be so aloof in the company of his peers, and so at ease fixing leaks and masonry."

She had never before been so perplexed by a person she had known for so short a time or had spoken to so little.

"And Mr. Saxon?" she asked.

"They have been friends since their school days. They have had their disagreements, to be sure, but I am convinced they shall never be truly or lastingly parted."

It was then as the ladies at last to their tea, that they found themselves in the company of the aforementioned gentlemen coming in from riding.

"Miss Tyler!" exclaimed Mr. Saxon, the gentleman passing his hat and crop to his man. "Such a pleasant surprise. I did not know, my dear Donna, that you had intended to invite our new acquaintance, or I am sure that I would not have made myself busy by riding."

"I assure you, sir, that no harm was done. I hope your ride was enjoyable?" the young lady inquired.

"Excellent, in fact! Though Mr. Smith continues to outride us all."

Rose looked over to the master of Tardishire Hall. He wore a hard expression, his jaw tight—it scarcely looked like _he_ enjoyed his ride at all.

"Miss Noble has been so kind, Mr. Smith, to welcome me into your home. I hope you will take to the country, for my mother tells me that the country has greatly taken to you, even if you do not dance at balls."

Mr. Smith, turning his head to the speaker, gave little inclination as to his opinion of her assessment, though she thought perhaps he might have smiled very slightly and in his own way, though she could not be certain, as it may have been a trick of the afternoon light.

"Shall we join you?" asked Mr. Saxon.

"If you promise to talk of more than your business in town. _I_ have not yet stopped dreaming of Grosvenor's Square, even if Miss Tyler has proven to be excellent company.

The gentlemen then made their way upstairs to change from their riding clothes, and the ladies continued int the drawing room.

"Do not think I mean for you to leave at the designated time, Miss Tyler," she said. "I mean for you to dine with us, if your mother will permit it."

"I daresay my mother will be more than happy to oblige, though I should send word."

With haste a man was sent to Powell Estate that the friends might spend more time being acquainted as neighbors.

"I must ask, Miss Noble, and pray, do not think me insensitive, but how exactly was it that you became acquainted with Mr. Smith?"

"His uncle on his mother's side was my grandfather, Wilfred Mott. When he fell ill and died, my custody passed to Mr. Smith, though he and I are scarcely five years apart, and he is hardly any longer my legal guardian."

"You lived abroad with him?"

"I was the one who convinced him to come back. After having lived so long in London with my father, I regretted having to live on the continent. He agreed to return to the country, but would have nothing of town."

The gentlemen arrived in the drawing room and took tea with the ladies.

"I am sorry that my friend was not so obliging yesterday evening," Mr. Saxon said.

"I am not offended," Rose replied. "Indeed, I do not blame him. Our little village must seem horribly dull and unimportant compared to the sites abroad. I, too, might not wish to dance with a living soul if I had visions of strange lands playing in my head."

"The lady quizzes you, sir, and with conviction. My lady," Mr. Saxon said, laughing, "I have never met anyone better suited for the job of doing so."

Mr. Smith turned towards her. "It is not that I am preoccupied with fantastical worlds, Miss Tyler. You mistake me. I have not recently found occasion for dancing. It has been some time since I have attended such a…gathering."

"Do not act as though your exile was not self-imposed, Mr. Smith," Miss Noble chided.

"Have you ever been abroad, Miss Tyler?" Mr. Smith asked, turning once again in her direction.

"Indeed, I have not had the opportunity. I have been to London several times, as my mother enjoys the shops in the Spring. And I have seen the Channel with my father before he died, but I have not been lucky enough to cross it."

"I believe you would enjoy Barcelona," he returned.

"Barcelona?"

"In Spain. There is a great love of dancing there."

Rose was not sure how to respond to his assertion, whether or not it was meant to vex, but was saved from further thought on the matter my the interjection of Mr. Saxon, who commented to Miss Noble about the fairness of the property, and several ideas for improving the lie of its edges, if she might allow him the privilege of carrying them out.

The former gentleman remained largely quiet for the remainder of the evening, commenting briefly when a question was directed his way, or during dinner, complementing the cooking when appropriate, but upon leaving Tardishire Hall, Rose still found herself undecided as to the man's character, when it seemed he was so determined that it should remain a mystery to everyone.

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	5. Chapter 5

Rose Tyler enjoyed spending the chiefest of her time out of doors when her mother was not in need of her, and when the weather allowed her to walk the perimeter of the property.

On her mind this morning was the company of the previous evening. Indeed, her mind was so consumed by the party living in Tardishire Hall that she could not summon the effort for her needlework, which she found dull in any event, and this led her outside, though still she could not concentrate enough to remember the name of the hero in her novel while reading.

The object of her thoughts was mainly Mr. Smith, a man who had not spoken more than a few sentences to her, and seemed generally taciturn and disagreeable, yet was still the desired company of such amiable and friendly people as Mr. Saxon and Miss Nobel, though perhaps she had not known the gentleman long enough to make an informed assessment.

Her mother certainly was not surprised by the behavior of Mr. Smith, which solidified her view of the man as an ill-natured sort of man who she would have nothing to do with had he not brought such fine company to the village.

"Not once have I heard a good opinion of him," Mrs. Tyler had declared over breakfast after Rose recounted the proceedings of the previous evening. "He has spoken little to anyone, and makes himself out to be the most reluctant of neighbors. Perhaps he finds himself too well-bred for our humble village, which may be true of some, though you come from a long and ancient line on my side."

Rose did not remark that the Prentices were moderately successful solicitors in Kent.

Have no mind for meaningful work, Rose excused herself and walked along the property until she found herself by the side of a very old and very shady tree, where she allowed her mind to consider the puzzle of Tardishire Hall without the vociferous opinion of her mother.

That a man should be so intentionally elusive was certainly not in his favor, she thought. That in his own home he should be cold and disinterested—certainly, she imagined, there must be something about the gentleman to account for his friends and success.

Her thoughts were shortened, however, by the sound of a horse at a moderate gallop. Curious as to who was riding off the main road, she turned to see a slightly harassed-looking man riding in her direction. It was none other than Mr. Smith.

"Miss Tyler!" the gentleman exclaimed when he finally stopped in front of her tree, wearing an expression of no little shock.

"Mr. Smith," she replied.

The gentleman steadied his horse but did not dismount.

"Miss Tyler, how have you come to be so far out? There is not a defined path within half a mile of here."

He regarded her with a look of concern and, it seemed, anger.

"This is the property of my late father. I do not believe it is a punishable offense to enjoy the untamed spaces of one's own property, is it not, sir?"

When he did not respond, she continued.

"And you, Mr. Smith? Why do you find yourself in such wilderness?"

"I have gone off course, it seems," he said tersely.

"Are you lost, sir?"

"Lost? Heavens, no. I have simply ridden too far south. If you would excuse me, Miss Tyler, I'm sorry to have disturbed your—_adventure_—"

"Is that blood?" she interrupted, seeing a splotch of red upon his sleeve. "Mr. Smith, are you hurt? You must let me help you."

But the gentleman would not consent.

"I am unhurt. It is from the stables—one of my mares was cut while riding, but it is none of _your_ concern."

She did not respond, and silence ruled for the space of a breath. Then the gentleman, insisting that he was quite well, took his leave without further ado, turning his horse before she could speak another word.

A very odd gentleman, to be sure, to ride around with his shirtsleeves marred with blood only to be surprised that it should be so conspicuous! Indeed, why should he be surprised at the presence of the blood at all, when the event that brought it was hardly an ordinary and forgettable occasion?

Her mind quickly considered all manner of explanation for the man's strange and evasive demeanor. She imagined him as a horrible rogue from her novels, keeper of a secret doomed to be his undoing. It was an exciting portrait to be sure, but upon further thought, and considering the lack of further manifestation of evidence, she was left to conclude the mundane, the painfully ordinary, that the blood upon Mr. Smith's shirtsleeves and his subsequent misorientation were the result of two separate and unrelated events, and thinking then of the injured mare, felt a feeling of pity for the poor beast.

::

The next day her dearest friend, Martha Jones, joined her for tea in the drawing room of Powell Estate. The house was a modest one, thoroughly lived-in, and very comfortable, though Mrs. Tyler often wished for newer furnishings, they were simply not to be had, for their income was small and the need for current fashions, in the view of Mrs. Tyler, was more pressing.

Martha Jones was the daughter of a baronet, a man, who, liker her father, had been a man of business, though altogether a more successful one, and after many years of serving the Crown by his profits and growing fortune, he was awarded a knighthood and attended St. James, styling himself Sir Clive ones, and subsequently removed himself to the country with his wife and children.

It was their arrival in the country that brought Miss Jones and Miss Tyler together as young girls, Martha the more senior of the friends, though with their temperaments very much in common, they had remained since their first meeting the closest of companions.

Upon sitting down for tea, Rose related to her friend the particulars of her encounter with Mr. Smith.

"Indeed," Miss Jones replied, "I have heard from my mother, who called upon Miss Noble only this morning, that there is a rocky lie within the property obscured by grass, and a poor mare injured herself. I do not think there any reason to believe Mr. Smith related a falsehood. And as for his getting lost, as you say, it is no surprise, for even you have said there is a wild sort of growth along the edges of the land, and he has not been long enough in the country to know precisely where one direction or another might take him."

"You think very well of him, though you do not know him. He is a very strange sort of man, and his behavior puzzles me exceedingly."

"Then I wonder at your knowing him at all."

"I do not know him truly, that is certain, but I know that he is a man who prefers the company of his own thoughts," said Rose.

"You have seen the man thrice and already you have formed an opinion of his character," replied Martha. "Do you not think him a handsome man? There is something to be said of his hair. My mother has called it a 'success of nature'."

"Certainly he is more handsome than most, but he is wanting elsewhere.

"But his choice in companions surely lends him credit. I have not had the privilege of meeting Mr. Saxon or Miss Noble intimately, but my father says they are excellent company."

"They are, and that is part of what vexes me. I cannot help thinking that there is something more to his character to which I am blind. It is hardly a moment out of my thoughts."

"My dear Rose," her friend returned, "were you not so determined to condemn the man, I might think you in love with him."

At this, Rose found it best to steer the nature of the conversation elsewhere, discussing instead topics of less importance and more frivolity.


	6. Chapter 6

Over the course of the next morning, Powell Estate was in receipt of two letters—one to each lady of the house.

The younger received a note from Miss Noble inviting her to ride with them into the country for the day on Thursday next, where they would enjoy a picnic and fine weather, afterwards dining at Tardishire. Her mother, of course, would be welcome to join them.

Mrs. Tyler, however, received an entirely different sort of letter, addressed from a Mr. Smith, and after overcoming the initial shock of receiving a letter from the master of Tardishire Hall, realized that it was not, in fact, the Mr. Smith of her original thought, but quite another.

_Auton, Near Guildford, Surrey_

_15th April_

_Dear Madam,_

_Since the passing of your late husband, the cousin of my father, the issue regarding the Estate has been, I am sorry to say, a source of disagreement between our two families. After the death of my own grandmother, who I am sorry to say was the main agitator of the disagreement, it has become my hope to bring peace between us, in hope that we may encourage felicity, and become a family once more._

_I have recently come under the patronage of the Honorable Lady Cassandra du Peau, a lady of extensive property and great condescension. It has been most fortunate for myself that her considerable means have afforded me a rectory along the edge of her estate, where I have taken on the great responsibility of tending to the parish of the area, and thusly charged with the souls of my flock._

_But to my point, as it is incumbent upon me by the laws of our land to assume the reigns of Powell Estate should Miss Tyler remain unmarried, and having been made familiar with the income of the property, and, if you will beg my pardon, the smallness of Miss Tyler's inheritance, which may severely decrease her chances of a match worthy of what I am sure is a bright and charming character, I hope that we may come to an agreement in the near future that suits all parties and unites our families again._

_Therefore, if you have no objection to my being received at your home, I shall find it convenient to arrive Wednesday next, where I shall arrive by a curricle Her Ladyship has been so kind to lend me. Do not worry about the horses, for if the Estate cannot attend to the burden of a setout, I shall find no issue with finding care for them in town. _

_If you are willing to receive me, I shall maintain my presence for a fortnight. In the meantime, I remain your dearest of allies, and constant well-wisher,_

_Michael Smith_

"'The smallness of Miss Tyler's income'!" Mrs. Tyler exclaimed over her breakfast. "'Decrease her chances'!" The lady promptly picked up her napkin, which she used to fan herself.

"Mamma," said Rose after reading the contents of the letter for herself, "perhaps the gentleman has not put the situation in such a delicate phrasing, but even you know the essence of his words to be true."

"The insolence of the man! He means to steal everything we have from us!"

"I do think, Mamma, that he means to do the opposite."

But the lady would not be soothed. It was the opinion of Mrs. Tyler that this Mr. Smith was a perfidious sort of man, that he would not have anything to do with her daughter, and that should she receive him into her home, it would be only with the required civility, and she would be extremely pleased to seem him leave after the fortnight's passing.

"There is nothing to be done for it. It was papa's will that I should inherit the Estate, but the law states that I cannot for my being a woman. That I should marry is the only thing for it."

"It is wicked that your father should have limited you so! A husband to stand in the way of your birthright!"

"But it is not my birthright, mamma. We were very lucky indeed there had been no entail, or we should have been removed from our home as soon as papa was cold in his grave."

"Do not be so dreadful in your speeches, my dear, you excite my nerves. And what of the other Mr. Smith? My dear, Rose, Mr. Smith is certain to ruin everything!"

"Of which Mr. Smith do you speak? And pray tell me why it is you are now so suddenly fond of Mr. Smith of Tardishire Hall when only yesterday you were very quick to make known your contempt?"

Mrs. Tyler waved then for Debra, who helped to guider her into the sitting room to lie upon the sofa.

"Both the Mr. Smiths have proven to be odious fellows. In fact, I have quite given up on the name altogether. Rose, darling, please open a window, I require the coolness of the breeze."

"Mamma," Rose replied upon returning to her seat, "I am not quite sure of the nature of your displeasure."

"You are too young to understand the complexities of a mother's struggles. One Mr. Smith seems to threaten to marry you, and the other will have nothing to do with your company. I am not sure which is the worser condition."

"You have met one Mr. Smith once, and the other not at all. You are very quick to condemn them, are you not?" Rose asked, though thinking that perhaps her mother was right in being less-than-charitable towards the Mr. Smith with whom they were already acquainted.

"My dear, my only concern is for you. Perhaps when you have children of your own, you will understand the hardships of a mother. Might you pour some water, Rose? I fear I have been worked up and heat overcomes me."

Rose poured her mother a glass of water, and sat by her side to fan her as she drank.

"And what of the letter from Miss Noble? I should like to attend, though I fear it is only the day after the arrival of our new Mr. Smith."

"Is every Mr. Smith made to be a destroyer of my designs?"

"Surely, mamma, it is only a picnic."

"And weddings are merely an excuse for Miss Jones to eat cake. My dear, for you own happiness, I hope that you do not marry either of the gentlemen, though if ever the need is made imperative, I do hope you do not choose the man who wrote this letter—for his hand suggests a lack of discipline, and I am certain you would be an excellent mistress of Tardishire, even if your husband were a very serious sort of man."

::

When her mother was quite well enough again, Rose found herself dispatching a note to Tardishire Hall that she would indeed be very glad to attend their little excursion, were it not for a distant relation who was to arrive only the day before. It was not an hour later when she was in receipt of another letter that expressed their pleasure in entertaining any friend of Miss Tyler's, and that the arrival of more company would surely only add to the enjoyment of the entire party.

Her mother was very pleased with such news, though she continued to insist throughout the week the impatience for the arrival of Mr. Smith, that the sooner he should arrive, the sooner he should be gone.

The gentleman arrived during the afternoon on the day he was scheduled to arrive, the ladies just having set down their needlework in preparation for taking tea.

He was a relaxed sort of man, his presence unassuming, every part of him contrary to the other Mr. Smith. When he greeted the ladies, he did so as if he had been acquainted with them the entirety of his life.

"It was a very excellent trip," he said upon taking a seat across from Rose. "That is to say, it was very excellent until I became rather lost about halfway through it. I admit to not knowing how precisely I had managed it, though it was a part of the country with which I was unacquainted. Indeed, being very unfamiliar with London, I thought perhaps the country roads would be finer, though I still found myself in such confusion. It was all newness to me, for I have only once been out of Surrey, when I was ordained."

"You have only _once_ before been away from Surrey?" Rose asked.

"Oh, yes, I find very little use of travel, unless, of course, there are such fine women as yourselves waiting to receive me. Then I am heartily well-disposed to the notion."


	7. Chapter 7

It is a general certainty regarding picnics that in the presence of dull company, the scenery ought to be exceptional, and if the scenery rather plain, then the company should be colorful and engaging; that one shortcoming may be balanced by the other, for in the presence of plain scenery and dull company, the excursion will be fated to disappear completely, as if into thin air for want of substance.

But on this day, the party at Tardishire was determined to enjoy both those rarities, splitting themselves between two barouches in order to make their way to a charming field for eating and amiable conversation.

In the first carriage sat Mr. Smith of Tardishire, Mr. Saxon, and Captain Harkness, who had been invited along with the rest of the party to enjoy the country air. In the second carriage were seated Miss Noble, Rose, and the new Mr. Smith. Mrs. Tyler had graciously declined the invitation, citing a headache, though the pretense could not fool her daughter, who knew her mother meant for Rose to present herself singly, that she might not go unnoticed by one gentleman or another.

The parties chatted amiably, and the new Mr. Smith soon found himself in conversation with Miss Noble.

"We may have to call you something else, Mr. Smith, for I fear the name has already been claimed in this party, and it would be terribly confusing, would it not, Miss Tyler, to be speaking of one man, and be mistaken of speaking of the other."

"It is indeed a common name," replied Mr. Smith, "but I am sorry to say, Miss Noble, that it is the name bestowed upon me by higher powers. There is no alternative, than for our party to speak clearly to and about the precise Mr. Smith they mean over the course of the conversation."

"Oh, Mr. Smith," Rose said, "I do not believe Miss Noble means to change your name _completely_, only to give variation to your address. Perhaps we may call you Parson Smith, that we may find ourselves in a more easy manner of discourse over the afternoon."

"Indeed," replied Parson Smith, seeing sense in the appellation. "Of course that is what the lady meant. That is very well, for I am indeed a parson."

"Then you shall be Parson Smith," Miss Noble said with a nod and an amused sort of smile.

::

The party arranged their picnic in a rather picturesque field of grass surrounded on two sides by trees that provided shade.

"There is an excellent patch of strawberries nearby, I am told," said Miss Noble. "After we have our little repast, we shall have to send two adventurers out to collect some, for I have not packed a dessert."

"I am exceedingly fond of strawberries," said Captain Harkness. "They are perfectly sweet and equally difficult to find, though once found, very eager indeed to be eaten. They are the maidens of fruit."

"Captain!" Rose exclaimed, shocked not that he would say such a thing, but that he should say it in the present company.

"No, I quite agree with the Captain," Mr. Saxon proclaimed, biting into a bit of cheese. "There is something about the fruit that makes them altogether better than apples or grapes. They are red and tempting as sin, are they not, Parson Smith?"

"I have not given thought on the matter. But surely grapes are a superior fruit, that we might turn them into wine, which as Christians we know to represent the blood of Christ."

"Religion makes any conversation excessively dull, does it not, Mr. Smith? And what is your opinion of strawberries?" Mr. Saxon asked to the gentleman of Tardishire.

"Any fruit, I should think, is better than the pear. You will find that I have no opinion on the strawberry, or the _majority_ of most other fruits, though there are those deserving of exception, when there are more pressing matters upon which to form an opinion."

"Pray, Mr. Smith," asked Rose to Mr. Smith, who sat across from her, "what is that fruit that you have deigned to affect your attention way from the recollections of your travels?"

"Bananas," he answered.

"Bananas?"

"They are a yellow fruit native to the New World, and I assure you, worthy of praise."

"I should like to try one someday," Rose replied.

"Parson Smith," said Mr. Saxon, turning to the man, who sat next to Rose, "have you been abroad? I have heard that many of your sort do missionary work in far-off lands."

"I have not gone abroad, sir, though many of my ecclesiastical brethren have made it their life's calling. No, indeed, I have found it very useful to stay within the country and to save my own flock—for there are benefits of repetition and regularity that bring harmony to the parish."

"Parson Smith has told me he has been only _once_ outside of Surrey before now," Rose added.

"Really, Mr. Smith? Just once?" asked Miss Noble.

The clergyman expressed that he was not ashamed of the fact, and was quite happy to remain in Surrey as long as his flock had need of him.

"But you, Captain, you are very well traveled, being a military man?" Miss Noble proffered. "Have you been to India?"

"I have not, dear lady, for I find the entire country to be entirely too hot, and such heat causes me to perspire unreasonably, which I do not think favors me, but rather the likes of working men and farmers. Those who work in the fields all day and become so perspired that the moisture goes _entirely though their shirts_."

"I myself have been to several places abroad," said Mr. Saxon after a momentary pause, "but not so many as Mr. Smith."

"And where have you traveled, Mr. Saxon?" asked Rose, who had turned away from Parson Smith in the direction of the rest of the rest of the party.

"Many places, Miss Tyler. Certainly those you have likely never before read of, but perhaps you are familiar with the West Indies?"

"Another place that is far too hot for myself, though I might risk it to have a look at their _enormous _workforce," whispered Jack with a wink.

"Yes, I have heard much of the West Indies," she replied.

"Everything there is so beautifully managed," Mr. Saxon continued. "Their workforce is efficient, far more than ours here."

"Are they not slaves, though, Mr. Saxon?" Rose replied.

"Indeed, though what is more efficient than a slave, Miss Tyler? They require no compensation for their work, and are very malleable if you enforce the proper sort of discipline."

Rose thought she might have flinched very slightly, his words giving her great pause, though she was soon rescued by Miss Noble, who sensed her unease.

"Perhaps, Miss Tyler, you would like to fetch us some strawberries? They are just over the hill, in the shade of the trees. I have a basket here, if you wish."

Rose looked gratefully at Miss Noble and took the basket.

"I shall attend the lady," said the voice of Mr. Smith, who stood up without delay. "Indeed," he said, pausing, "surely she cannot go alone, and seeing as everyone else so well engaged in conversation, I shall accompany Miss Tyler."

The pair climbed over the hill in silence until they came to the patch of strawberries.

"Do you meant to tell me off, Mr. Smith, by accompanying me, so that you my spare me my dignity in front of my friends?"

"What reason would I have to tell you off, as you say?"

"I am certain there are many reasons that I have not the capacity to fathom, but surely you seek chiefly to admonish me for my disagreement with Mr. Saxon, your friend."

"I do not think that I am in any place to admonish you, Miss Tyler, even if you in some way deserved it, but I assure you that I have no wish to upbraid you when indeed he is the one deserving of censure. I hardly think his duration in the West Indies is proper conversation in polite company."

They continued to pick strawberries and were on their way to filling the basket completely, but Rose could not imagine what would possess Mr. Smith to seek her company when he had previously made such an attempt at avoiding it.

Perhaps he meant to frighten her by standing to imposingly, or perhaps he had a genuine love for strawberries, and company mattered little in this affair.

"Parson Smith is certainly an interesting fellow," Mr. Smith said.

Rose was inclined to disagree, but instead replied in the affirmative, and that indeed he seemed to get along amiably with her mother and had even complimented her on the cooking, though she had done none of the work herself.

Rose continued to talk as they picked, hoping it would dissuade the gentleman from expressing a true purpose of joining her, and to pass the time more quickly until they were reunited with their party.

"Miss Tyler," the gentleman said suddenly.

"Mr. Smith?"

"I thought…I thought perhaps, if you would like, you might come over and ride at Tardishire. Miss Noble has a horse that gets hardly the exercise it requires, and she is yours to use if you wish, whenever you like."

She did not answer right away for fear the words she would speak would not contain any coherence.

"You do me a great honor, sir. But my mamma, certainly she would not like me to ride. My late father, you see, died falling off of one. And Parson Smith—I could not come and ride and leave him for nothing during the entire fortnight he is to stay with us. Perhaps we ought to get back to the others; we look to have strawberries enough for us all."

The remainder of the afternoon and evening passed with no little tension between all members of the party, and when she parted to return to Powell Estate that night, she feared she might never again be invited to Tardishire, and that she would be obliged to spend all of her time with Parson Smith, within whom she was still searching for something to admire.

The next morning, however, she received a small note handed to her not at breakfast, but in the garden while her mother was inside, by a man she did not know wearing Tardishire livery.

_My offer still stands should you ever feel even the least inclination to ride. Though I find honesty to be the best of policies, it may be wise not to inform your mother if there is real risk in her forbidding it._

_-D. Smith_

This time she said yes.


End file.
